Abstract
For any environment, the total microorganisms along with their collective genetic material constitute a “Microbiome.” The microorganisms being ubiquitous in nature inhabit the marine environment, i.e., the ocean, the seas, estuaries, bays, and their coasts as free entities or live in association with the marine animals (fish, sponges, corals, sea grass and algae, etc.). In the marine environment, coral reefs represent one of the most diverse ecosystems, having immense biodiversity and thus contributing to the primary productivity in the greater extent. Over last few decades, the researchers have explored much of the marine microbiology using new technologies and tools, but vast majority of the marine microbiome still remained to be uncovered, whose potential would definitely play an important role in future marine science. Up to the recent time, the number of marine microbes has reached to billions microbes per liter of seawater. Owing to their extreme diversity and versatility in terms of their metabolic activities, the marine microbes play an important role for supporting the marine food web. Generally, these microbes derive energy either through photosynthesis or through chemosynthesis. The marine microbiomes are responsible for more than half of the all primary production occurring on Earth. Moreover, these microorganisms contribute significantly to the biogeochemical cycling of the nutrients, oxygen production, and degradation of organic matters. In this chapter, the diversity and ecology of the marine microorganisms (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) and viruses are discussed along with their response to change in environmental factors like temperature, pressure, nutrient, oxygen and sunlight availability, and alterations in ocean stratification.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
- Algal bloom
- Biogeochemical cycling
- Climate change
- Coral reef microbiomes
- Marine microbiome
- Pelagibacter
- Prochlorococcus
- Stratification
1 Introduction
Seas and oceans are the largest biospheres on earth, covering more than 70% of its surface and hosting majority of its biomass (Whitman et al. 1998). Since all life forms originated from microbes in the ocean, these microbes dominate the living biomass after billions of years of evolution. Microorganisms are the most important entities in marine environments, representing about 90% of the biomass, and are responsible for about 98% of primary marine productivity (Alvarez-Yela et al. 2019). Marine microbes play a fundamental role in maintaining structure and function of marine ecosystem, as these microorganisms are the main source of mass and energy for all other life in the ocean and also sustain all life on earth by generating much of the oxygen in the planet. Marine microorganisms have the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change since they are the major processors of the world’s greenhouse gases. Marine microbes play a central role in biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur and are potential source of biotechnologically important compounds (Tinta et al. 2019). Owing to the remarkable diversity and clear importance of the marine microbes, uncovering oceanic microbial taxa remains a fundamental challenge in microbial ecology (Gajigan et al. 2018). Major limitation in studying the diversity of marine microbial communities includes that vast majority (about 90–99%) of the microorganisms cannot be grown under standard laboratory conditions (Delmont et al. 2011). To overcome this limitation, molecular biology and sequencing technologies (metabarcoding and metagenomics) have been developed (Streit and Schmitz 2004; Pavan-Kumar et al. 2015), that are continuously enriching our knowledge about phylogenetic and functional diversity of the marine microbes (Debnath et al. 2007; Dionisi et al. 2012; Glöckner et al. 2012). With the advent of several new tools and technologies (such as deep sea sampling, metagenomics, next generation sequencing, etc.), there is possible opportunities for unlocking the potential of the marine microbiome in future (de la Calle 2017).
A coral reef is an important ecosystem found beneath the surface of the water and characterized by corals which form reefs. Often called sea rainforests, shallow coral reefs form one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. Although they occupy less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean’s surface, coral reefs provide food, shelter, and habitat to about 25% of known marine species (Spalding and Grenfell 1997; Spalding et al. 2001; Mulhall 2009), including crustaceans, echinoderms, fish, molluscs, sponges, tunicates, worms, and other cnidarians (Hoover 2007). They offer various important economic services like coastal protection, fisheries, and tourism (Bourne et al. 2016; Silveira et al. 2017; Torda et al. 2017) (Fig. 6.1a).
Coral reefs are microbially driven ecosystems where microbes play a fundamental role in maintaining holobiont health and resilience of reef ecosystem under environmental perturbation (Vanwonterghem and Webster 2020).
2 Marine Microbiome
The “marine microbiome” is the diverse community of all microorganisms found in oceans and other aquatic environments. Marine microbiome controls the health of life on earth (de la Calle 2017). A drop of seawater may contain up to a million microbes with estimated number of 3.5 × 1030 microbes on the oceanic subsurface. In marine environments, microbes either live as free communities in the water column and benthonic substrates or in symbiotic association with other oceanic macroorganisms like macro-algae, corals, and sponges (Glöckner et al. 2012; Grossart et al. 2013). The symbiotic interactions between the oceanic microbes and host organisms could be harmful or beneficial depending on its microbial taxonomic structure and functionality (Konopka 2009; Kellogg et al. 2014). Any environmental factors or host characteristics (such as age, diseases, and physiological state) change the composition of associated microbial communities that ultimately influences the nutrient uptake, light absorption, and pathogen interactions of the hosts (Webster et al. 2008; Lachnit et al. 2011; Wahl et al. 2012; Zhang et al. 2015; Lawler et al. 2016).
Coral reefs consist a complicated network of free living and host associated microbial communities with strong benthic-pelagic coupling (Lesser 2006; Bourne and Webster 2013). In order to flourish in oligotrophic waters, these communities help them in efficient capture, retention, and recycling of nutrients and trace elements (de Goeij et al. 2013; Cardini et al. 2014).
Corals obtain a small portion of their nutrients through heterotrophic feeding (predation of zooplankton), and mainly depend on their microbiome for the proficient acquisition and recycling of nutrients in the sea waters (Bourne et al. 2016). In addition, the coral-associated microbes also provide essential amino acids and co-factors (B vitamins) to the coral host and algal endosymbionts (Robbins et al. 2019; Matthews et al. 2020). Moreover, the native microbiome also protects the coral hosts from pathogens by colonizing the coral surface, by competing for nutrients, space, and the synthesis of antimicrobial compounds (Peixoto et al. 2017).
3 Marine Microorganisms (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) and Viruses
Microorganisms are the most abundant and diverse residents of marine environment. These microbes are the key players in maintaining marine ecosystems health owing to their integral contribution to biogeochemical cycles and other biological processes (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur cycling, etc.) (Caron 2005; Sogin et al. 2006). Marine microorganisms include archaea, bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses which collectively comprise millions of cells in each milliliter of the oceanic water (Eakins and Sharman 2010).
Marine microorganisms acquire specific properties owing to extreme marine environmental conditions in which they live such as alkaline or acidic water, high or low temperature, high pressure and limited substrate in the deep sea water (Baharum et al. 2010).
Over 100 species of bacteria can be found in just a single drop of sea water. Their size may vary from the smallest, i.e., one-hundredth of a millimeter to the largest, i.e., three-quarters of a millimeter (found in ocean sediments off the coast of Namibia). Marine bacteria are well adapted to their environmental condition in the ocean. Bacteria living close to the water’s surface obtain energy through photosynthesis like cyanobacteria. In contrast, bacteria living at deeper depths where there is no sunlight, acquire unique adaptations to obtain energy through different chemical reactions and this leads to greater bacterial diversity at water depth. Some marine bacteria feed either on other bacteria (like Bdellovibrio) or on dying phytoplankton. Among marine bacteria, Prochlorococcus, (a cyanobacterium) and Pelagibacter are of particular interest. The ocean surface (rich in sunlight) is home to some of the world’s biggest photosynthesizers. Prochlorococcus, being one of the most abundant photosynthesizer on the planet, is responsible for producing 20% of the O2 in the atmosphere. Pelagibacter accounts for about 25% of all the microbes in the water column. This bacterium plays significant role in cleaning the ocean as it feeds on organic matter, dissolved in the ocean water.
Archaea constitute about 40% of the marine microbes. In addition to living in extremely hot, acidic, or low oxygen environments, archaea are found in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
Viruses are the most abundant entities in the oceanic water, with estimated number of more than 1030 viruses in the ocean. Since viruses living in the ocean generally infect specific hosts, the number of viruses fluctuates with change in the host bacterial communities. It is found that in the sunlit portion of the water column, viral infection rates are comparatively higher.
Although protists are one of the least studied microbes in the ocean, they can have significant impacts on ecosystems. Some protists are voracious predators that impose check on the number of bacteria in the ocean. A type of protist, a dinoflagellate, live in symbiotic association with corals.
In the marine environment, although fungi are comparatively hard to find, they play important roles in the marine ecosystem (recycling nutrients). Generally, marine fungi live in association with the decomposition of plant materials or as parasites within marine plants, algae, and animals.
4 Importance of Marine Microbes
4.1 Biogeochemical Cycling of the Nutrients
Marine microbes are of critical importance for maintaining environmental and human health. They are key players to biogeochemical cycles, fluxes, and processes which occur in marine environment; and thus these microorganisms are very crucial for the functioning of marine ecosystems. Marine phototrophic microbes produce most of the global oxygen that is indispensable for all life on Earth.
4.2 Degradation of Organic Matters
Marine microorganisms are responsible for the degradation of organic compounds in the ocean, thus maintain the balance between free and fixed carbon dioxide (CO2). Due to their extreme abundance and diversity, these microbes produce and release carbon products (CO2 and CH4) that regulate the Earth’s climate.
4.3 Source of Novel Bioactive Compounds
Marine microorganisms are potential source of biotechnologically important enzymes and compounds that are used in industrial and medical sectors. Polymer degrading enzymes and robust enzymes have been isolated from extremophilic marine microbes and are being successfully used in several industries like laundry and food processing industries (Antranikian 2007; Kennedy et al. 2008). Marine bacteria are also a source of biosurfactants and (extracellular) polymeric substances that are used as bio-adhesives, biodegradable plastics, dyes, drag reducing coatings on ship hulls, sunscreens, underwater surface coatings, etc. (Munn 2011). Moreover several bioactive compounds have been isolated from marine microbes and tested for their biomedical potential (anticancer and anti-inflammatory drugs, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral agents, drug delivery agents, etc.) (Fenical 2006; Newman and Hill 2006; Williams 2009; Choudhary et al. 2017).
4.4 Tackling Pollution
Owing to their incredibly diverse genes, marine microorganisms are being studied and explored for their bioremediation activities. It has been found that these microbes have significant potential to break down the environmental pollutants, e.g., oil, Br-containing pesticides and flame retardants. Several marine bacteria have natural tendency to breakdown and remove oil in the ocean. Ocean plastic pollution is another issue of concern. Marine bacteria have been found to grow and feed on plastics (Yoshida et al. 2016). Moreover, marine microbes are being investigated as a source of new sustainable bioplastics (Narancic and O’Connor 2017). Various marine bacteria act as indicators of effluent discharges and find application in heavy metal bioremediation (Ramaiah et al. 2007; Selvin et al. 2009; Dash and Das 2016).
4.5 Maintenance of Marine Food Chain and Food Web
Marine microorganisms occupy the critical bottom trophic level in ocean foodwebs through continuously supplying the seafood products. The microscopic remnants of dead organisms and their waste products are fed by marine microbes, which in turn are consumed by tiny creatures called nanoflagellates. Then, the slightly larger creatures called ciliates feed on those nanoflagellates. These ciliates are the food source of copepods (bug-like crustaceans) and other zooplankton, which are further engulfed by small fish.
5 Environmental Factors Affecting the Marine Microbiome
Environmental pollution and climate change have significant hazards to the corals, sponges, and other marine organisms, which in turn, may introduce risks to human health and economic growth. Coral reefs are facing unprecedented losses on local and global scales leading to its degradation. Under future climate change conditions, they are expected to be among the most adversely affected ecosystems. Localized reef degradation is caused by declining water quality, disease, overfishing, physical destruction, pollution, and outbreaks of coral predating fish (De’ath et al. 2012; Pawlik et al. 2016; Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2017) whereas climate change (i.e., elevated temperature, oceanic acidification) is responsible for reef degradation at a global scale (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2007).
In 1988, the first mass coral bleaching event was recorded (Cziesielski et al. 2019), and prominent coral reef ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef have lost about 50% of shallow-water corals in the past 4 years alone (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2019).
Climate change may cause a destabilization of the coral natural microbiome, resulting in a dysbiosis that will in turn cause the emergence of opportunistic and potentially pathogenic microorganisms, resulting in an increased incidence of disease, bleaching and eventually host mortality (Littman et al. 2011; van Oppen and Blackall 2019) (Fig. 6.1b).
5.1 Global Climate Change
Due to anthropogenic activities, there is an increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that in turn results in increasing the average global temperature. This increase in global temperature will also cause a rise in oceanic temperature that pose significant effects on the marine microbiome and other oceanic life it supports. Metabolic activity and growth rate of marine microorganisms are differentially affected by temperature. One of the important consequences of increased water temperature results in the occurrence of harmful “algal bloom,” where microorganisms grow rapidly in large quantities, producing toxins and deplete vital nutrients in the water. Thus the algal bloom presents significant hazards to aquatic life, seabirds, and humans.
Due to the increased global temperature, the polar icecaps are melting and massive volumes of freshwater are released in the oceans that results in sea level rise. This sudden release of water will change the salinity of the receiving water bodies, i.e., oceans, seas, etc., which will affect marine microorganisms causing dramatic shifts in the microbial community composition (Gao et al. 2012; Thomas et al. 2012).
Moreover, high temperature of the ocean affects the availability of certain nutrients and lowers the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. This may affect the growth of some microorganisms particularly, planktons, which are an important food source for other oceanic life (Hutchins and Fu 2017).
Marine environment is also affected by the anthropogenic emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere that results in ocean acidification. About one-third of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by combustion of fossil fuel enters the ocean surface (Orr et al. 2005). CO2 dissolution in seawater disturbs the “equilibrium of the seawater carbonate buffer system” thus lowering its pH. However the effects of low pH on the growth and activity of marine microorganisms are not fully understood.
In case of coral reef ecosystems, it has been reported that due to higher ocean temperature and/or acidification, there is a microbial community shift, i.e., from beneficial bacterial taxa (Endozoicomonas) to opportunistic and pathogenic groups (Alteromonadaceae and Vibrionaceae) that will result in elevated incidence of disease (Bourne et al. 2016; O’Brien et al. 2016; McDevitt-Irwin et al. 2017).
Another impact of high CO2 is alteration of ocean stratification (i.e., a physical barrier/density driven structure in a water column in which colder and/or more saline water underlies warmer and/or less saline water). The intensified “stratification” process leads to lowering of vertical fluxes of critical deep-water nutrients, thus affecting the growth of plankton in the surface ocean (Hutchins and Fu 2017).
5.2 Environmental Pollution
Inadequately planned and poorly managed agriculture and aquaculture practices are generating nutrient-abundant wastes being dumped into aquatic environments. It may cause eutrophication, algal bloom events, and oxygen-depleted “dead zones.”
The effect of oil pollution on marine microbial community is not fully understood. Some marine bacteria have natural tendency to breakdown the oil in the ocean. Discharge of large amount of oil in the ocean results in growth of their numbers, which in turn, may cause reduction in overall marine microbial biodiversity (Yang et al. 2016).
6 Conclusion
Marine microbiome represents the totality of all microbes and viruses in the ocean/seas and in any related environment (the seafloor and marine animals/plants). The diversity of microbial life remains largely unidentified, and may represent a secret treasure for human society. Moreover, in today’s ocean, the abundance, distribution, diversity, interactions, and functions of marine microorganisms are either directly or indirectly affected by the climate change and anthropogenic disturbances, resulting in altered nutrient cycling, loss of microbial diversity and biomass, local extinction, and community shifts. Although coral reefs support enormous biodiversity and provide critical ecosystem services, they suffer rapid degradation on a local and global scale. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms involved in coral bleaching and resilience is required, coupled with concerted global action to reduce carbon emissions to prevent further decline in coral reefs.
References
Alvarez-Yela AC, Mosquera-Rendón J, Noreña A, Cristancho Ardila MA, López-Alvarez DC (2019) Microbial diversity exploration of marine hosts at Serrana Bank, a coral atoll of the Seaflower biosphere reserve. Front Mar Sci 6:338
Antranikian G (2007) Industrial relevance of thermophiles and their enzymes. In: Robb F, Grogan D (eds) Thermophiles: biology and technology at high temperatures. GRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp 113–189
Baharum SN, Beng EK, Mokhtar MAA (2010) Marine microorganisms: potential application and challenges. J Biol Sci 10(6):555–564
Bourne DG, Webster NS (2013) Coral reef bacterial communities. In: Rosenberg E, DeLong EF, Lory S, Stackebrandt E, Thompson F (eds) The prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, pp 163–187
Bourne DG, Morrow KM, Webster NS (2016) Insights into the coral microbiome: underpinning the health and resilience of reef ecosystems. Annu Rev Microbiol 70:317–340
Cardini U, Bednarz VN, Foster RA, Wild C (2014) Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change. Ecol Evol 4(9):1706–1727
Caron DA (2005) Marine microbial ecology in a molecular world?: what does the future hold? Scentia Mar 69(Suppl):97–110. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2005.69s197
Choudhary A, Naughton LM, Montánchez I, Dobson ADW, Rai DK (2017) Current status and future prospects of marine natural products (MNPs) as antimicrobials. Mar Drugs 15:272
Cziesielski MJ, Schmidt-Roach S, Aranda M (2019) The past, present, and future of coral heat stress studies. Ecol Evol 9(17):10055–10066
Dash HR, Das S (2016) Diversity, community structure, and bioremediation potential of mercury-resistant marine bacteria of estuarine and coastal environments of Odisha, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:6960–6971
De Goeij JM, Van Oevelen D, Vermeij MJ, Osinga R, Middelburg JJ, De Goeij AF, Admiraal W (2013) Surviving in a marine desert: the sponge loop retains resources within coral reefs. Science 342(6154):108–110
de la Calle F (2017) Marine microbiome as source of natural products. Microb Biotechnol 10(6):1293
De’ath G, Fabricius KE, Sweatman H, Puotinen M (2012) The 27–year decline of coral cover on the great barrier reef and its causes. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109(44):17995–17999
Debnath M, Paul AK, Bisen PS (2007) Natural bioactive compounds and biotechnological potential of marine bacteria. Curr Pharm Biotechnol 8:253–260. https://doi.org/10.2174/138920107782109976
Delmont TO, Robe P, Clark I, Simonet P, Vogel TM (2011) Metagenomic comparison of direct and indirect soil DNA extraction approaches. J Microbiol Methods 86(3):397–400
Dionisi H, Lozada M, Oliviera NL (2012) Bioprospection of marine microorganisms: biotechnological applications and methods. Rev Argent Microbiol 44:49–60. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0325-75412012000100010
Eakins BW, Sharman GF (2010) Volumes of the World’s oceans from ETOPO1. National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, CO
Fenical W (2006) Marine pharmaceuticals: past, present and future. Oceanography 19:112–119
Gajigan AP, Yñiguez AT, Villanoy CL, Jacinto GS, Conaco C (2018) Diversity and community structure of marine microbes around the benham rise underwater plateau, northeastern Philippines. PeerJ 6:e4781
Gao K, Helbling EW, Häder DP, Hutchins DA (2012) Responses of marine primary producers to interactions between ocean acidification, solar radiation, and warming. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 470:167–189
Glöckner FO, Stal L, Sandaa RA, Gasol JM, O’Gara F, Hernandez F et al (2012) Marine microbial diversity and its role in ecosystem functioning and environmental change. In: McDonough N, Calewaert J-B (eds) Marine board position Paper 17. European Scientific Foundation, Belgium, p 84. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.5138.6400
Grossart HP, Riemann L, Tang KW (2013) Molecular and functional ecology of aquatic microbial symbionts. Front Microbiol 4:59. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00059
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Mumby PJ, Hooten AJ, Steneck RS, Greenfield P, Gomez E, Harvell CD, Sale PF, Edwards AJ, Caldeira K, Knowlton N (2007) Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science 318(5857):1737–1742
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Poloczanska ES, Skirving W, Dove S (2017) Coral reef ecosystems under climate change and ocean acidification. Front Mar Sci 4:158
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Jacob D, Taylor M, Bolaños TG, Bindi M, Brown S, Camilloni IA, Diedhiou A, Djalante R, Ebi K, Engelbrecht F (2019) The human imperative of stabilizing global climate change at 1.5 C. Science 365(6459):1–13
Hoover J (2007) Hawaii’s sea creatures. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, HI
Hutchins DA, Fu F (2017) Microorganisms and ocean global change. Nat Microbiol 2(6):17058
Kellogg CA, Piceno YM, Tom LM, DeSantis TZ, Gray MA, Andersen GL (2014) Comparing bacterial community composition of healthy and dark spot-affected Siderastrea siderea in Florida and the Caribbean. PLoS One 9:e108767. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108767
Kennedy J, Marchesi JR, Dobson ADW (2008) Marine metagenomics: strategies for discovery of novel enzymes with biotechnological applications from marine environments. Microb Cell Fact 7:27
Konopka A (2009) What is microbial community ecology? ISME J 3:1223–1230. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2009.88
Lachnit T, Meske D, Wahl M, Harder T, Schmitz R (2011) Epibacterial community patterns on marine macroalgae are host-specific but temporally variable. Environ Microbiol 13:655–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02371.x
Lawler SN, Kellogg CA, France SC, Clostio RW, Brooke D, Ross SW (2016) Coral-associated bacterial diversity is conserved across two deep-sea anthothela species. Front Microbiol 7:458. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00458
Lesser MP (2006) Benthic–pelagic coupling on coral reefs: feeding and growth of Caribbean sponges. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 328(2):277–288
Littman R, Willis BL, Bourne DG (2011) Metagenomic analysis of the coral holobiont during a natural bleaching event on the great barrier reef. Environ Microbiol Rep 3(6):651–660
Matthews JL, Raina JB, Kahlke T, Seymour JR, Van Oppen MJ, Suggett DJ (2020) Symbiodiniaceae-bacteria interactions: rethinking metabolite exchange in reef-building corals as multi-partner metabolic networks. Environ Microbiol 22(5):1675–1687
McDevitt-Irwin JM, Baum JK, Garren M, Vega Thurber RL (2017) Responses of coral-associated bacterial communities to local and global stressors. Front Mar Sci 4:262
Mulhall M (2009) Saving rainforests of the sea: an analysis of international efforts to conserve coral reefs. Duke Environ Law Policy Forum 19:321–351
Munn CB (2011) Marine microbiology: ecology and applications. CRC Press, Abingdon, UK
Narancic T, O’Connor KE (2017) Microbial biotechnology addressing the plastic waste disaster. Microb Biotechnol 10(5):1232–1235
Newman DJ, Hill RT (2006) New drugs from marine microbes: the tide is running. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 33:539–544
O'Brien PA, Morrow KM, Willis BL, Bourne DG (2016) Implications of ocean acidification for marine microorganisms from the free-living to the host-associated. Front Mar Sci 3:47
Orr JC, Fabry VJ, Aumont O, Bopp L, Doney SC, Feely RA, Gnanadesikan A, Gruber N, Ishida A, Joos F, Key RM (2005) Anthropogenic Ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms. Nature 437(7059):681–686
Pavan-Kumar A, Gireesh-Babu P, Lakra WS (2015) DNA metabarcoding: a new approach for rapid biodiversity assessment. J Cell Sci Mol Biol 2:111
Pawlik JR, Burkepile DE, Thurber RV (2016) A vicious circle? altered carbon and nutrient cycling may explain the low resilience of Caribbean coral reefs. Bioscience 66(6):470–476
Peixoto RS, Rosado PM, Leite DCDA, Rosado AS, Bourne DG (2017) Beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMC): proposed mechanisms for coral health and resilience. Front Microbiol 8:341
Ramaiah NV, Rodrigues V, Alwares E, Rodrigues C, Baksh R, Jayan S, Mohandass C (2007) Sewage-pollution indicator bacteria. In: Shetye SR, Dileep Kumar M, Shankar D (eds) The Mandovi and Zuari estuaries. National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, pp 115–120
Robbins SJ, Singleton CM, Chan CX, Messer LF, Geers AU, Ying H, Baker A, Bell SC, Morrow KM, Ragan MA, Miller DJ (2019) A genomic view of the reef-building coral Porites lutea and its microbial symbionts. Nat Microbiol 4(12):2090–2100
Selvin J, Priya SS, Kiran GS, Thangavelu T, Bai NS (2009) Sponge-associated marine bacteria as indicators of heavy metal pollution. Microbiol Res 164:352–363
Silveira CB, Cavalcanti GS, Walter JM, Silva-Lima AW, Dinsdale EA, Bourne DG, Thompson CC, Thompson FL (2017) Microbial processes driving coral reef organic carbon flow. FEMS Microbiol Rev 41(4):575–595
Sogin ML, Morrison HG, Huber JA, Welch DM, Huse SM, Neal PR et al (2006) Microbial diversity in the deep sea and the underexplored “rare biosphere”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103:12115–12120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605127103
Spalding MD, Grenfell AM (1997) New estimates of global and regional coral reef areas. Coral Reefs 16(4):225–230
Spalding MD, Ravilious C, Green EP (2001) World atlas of coral reefs. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
Streit WR, Schmitz RA (2004) Metagenomics - the key to the uncultured microbes. Curr Opin Microbiol 7:492–498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2004.08.002
Thomas MK, Kremer CT, Klausmeier CA, Litchman E (2012) A global pattern of thermal adaptation in marine phytoplankton. Science 338(6110):1085–1088
Tinta T, Kogovšek T, Klun K, Malej A, Herndl GJ, Turk V (2019) Jellyfish-associated microbiome in the marine environment: exploring its biotechnological potential. Mar Drugs 17(2):94
Torda G, Donelson JM, Aranda M, Barshis DJ, Bay L, Berumen ML, Bourne DG, Cantin N, Foret S, Matz M, Miller DJ (2017) Rapid adaptive responses to climate change in corals. Nat Clim Chang 7(9):627–636
van Oppen MJ, Blackall LL (2019) Coral microbiome dynamics, functions and design in a changing world. Nat Rev Microbiol 17(9):557–567
Vanwonterghem I, Webster NS (2020) Coral reef microorganisms in a changing climate. Science 23(4):100972
Wahl M, Goecke F, Labes A, Dobretsov S, Weinberger F (2012) The second skin: ecological role of epibiotic biofilms on marine organisms. Front Microbiol 3:292. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00292
Webster NS, Xavier JR, Freckelton M, Motti CA, Cobb R (2008) Shifts in microbial and chemical patterns within the marine sponge Aplysina aerophoba during a disease outbreak. Environ Microbiol 10:3366–3376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01734.x
Williams PG (2009) Panning for chemical gold: marine bacteria as a source of new therapeutics. Trends Biotechnol 27:45–52
Yang S et al (2016) Hydrocarbon degraders establish at the costs of microbial richness, abundance and keystone taxa after crude oil contamination in permafrost environments. Sci Rep 6:37473
Yoshida S et al (2016) A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate). Science 351(6278):1196–1199
Zhang YY, Ling J, Yang QS, Wang YS, Sun CC, Sun HY et al (2015) The diversity of coral associated bacteria and the environmental factors affect their community variation. Ecotoxicology 24:1467–1477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1454-1454
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Khan, S., Malik, A. (2021). Exploring the Diversity of Marine Microbiome in Response to Changes in the Environment. In: Lone, S.A., Malik, A. (eds) Microbiomes and the Global Climate Change. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4508-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4508-9_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-33-4507-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-33-4508-9
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)